COLUMBIA — A pay bump of 5 percent for South Carolina’s near 53,000 public school teachers. A $200 million refund for S.C. taxpayers. A bigger investment in the state’s rural communities. And an effort to freeze rising college and university tuition costs. Millions of dollars for pay raises, bonuses or to hire new law enforcement, corrections and probation officers and firefighters.

Those are among the highlights of Gov. Henry McMaster’s 2019-20 executive budget proposal, unveiled Tuesday. It is the Columbia Republican’s first proposed spending plan since he was sworn into office last week for his first, four-year term.

The governor’s budget blueprint focuses on K-12 education, a sign he is aligning his priorities with that of the GOP-controlled Legislature, which wants to debate proposed changes to the state’s education system this session.

The Governor’s Office said McMaster met Monday with S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, who is leading the House’s effort on education reform.

McMaster has said the General Assembly should not spend the state’s entire $1 billion in new money, which includes $546 million in one-time money. Instead, McMaster said, $200 million should be rebated back to S.C. taxpayers.

“Surpluses in state government revenues don’t mean we have to spend it all,” McMaster told reporters Tuesday. “It means prioritizing the most critical needs in state government, then returning what’s not needed back to the taxpayers.”

‘We’re going to fix education in South Carolina’

The state of South Carolina suffers from an alarming teacher shortage, McMaster acknowledged Tuesday.

More than 5,300 teachers quit their jobs last school year, forcing school districts to heavily rely on substitute and international teachers, according to a new statewide study.

That is why, he said Tuesday, he is asking lawmakers to spend nearly $155 million to give S.C. teachers a 5-percent pay raise — enough to raise teacher salaries past the 2020 projected southeastern average salary of $52,830.

“We must have and must be known as having the very finest teachers and educators in the United States,” McMaster said Tuesday, standing beside Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, R-Travelers Rest. “We are not there yet. We do have some of the finest. But we need to be known as having the finest.”

In his proposed budget, he also asked for an added $31.8 million for a $10 increase to the state’s base student cost.

McMaster also asked lawmakers Thursday to spend an added $46 million, which would cover the costs of hiring 758 trained and certified school resource officers for schools unable to cover the costs itself. Separately, he asked legislators to spend another $2.2 million annually for the S.C. Department of Health to hire additional counselors, giving students and faculty more access to services in school.

Since the fatal shooting deaths of 17 students and faculty at a Florida high school in February 2018, McMaster has called on lawmakers to spend more money to protect the state’s roughly 730,000 K-12 students. Last year, lawmakers added only $2 million in the state’s 2018-19 budget, enough to help hire SROs for 38 struggling S.C. schools.

The S.C. Department of Education plans to staff a full-time officer in each school by 2020.

Further, McMaster wants the Legislature to spend $100 million to allow the S.C. Department of Commerce to focus on bringing new jobs and investment to 28 of the state’s poorest school districts. The Governor’s Office credited the idea to state Sen. John Matthews, D-Orangeburg, who brought the proposal to McMaster’s attention a year ago.

“I intend to work vigorously with the leadership of the General assembly,” he said. “We’re going to fix education in South Carolina.”

Tax reform efforts

McMaster is not giving up his campaign promise to push for across-the-board income tax cuts for all South Carolinians.

But, the Governor’s Office said Tuesday that conversation needs to be part of a broader conversation with the House and Senate, whose respective committees have been studying tax reform.

He made a similar request last year, but lawmakers ignored it. This year, the General Assembly plans to embark on a more comprehensive tax reform package.

“I commend the House of Representatives and the Senate for embarking on a serious and deliberate effort to reform our state’s tax structure and look forward to collaborating with them to ensure success,” McMaster said.

McMaster’s predecessor, former Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, too, proposed income tax cuts. Those cuts were never approved by lawmakers, with some arguing they would result in cuts to already underfunded state programs, including schools and colleges.

The governor’s budget proposal also renews a call for a full state income tax exemption for retired military veterans and first responders, including state and federal law enforcement officers, firefighters and peace officers.

“We need to get it (done) this year,” McMaster said. “It’s part of our economic prosperity and growth.”

McMaster’s 2019-20 budget requests

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster unveiled his proposed 2019-’20 spending plan Tuesday that he hopes S.C. lawmakers use as a blueprint before crafting the state’s budget that takes effect July 1. The governor’s requests include:

$155 million, to cover a 5-percent teacher pay raise

$100 million, to focus on bringing more jobs and investment to some of the state’s poorest school districts

$63 million, to enhance workforce partnerships, grants, training and scholarships for prospective technical college students

$40 million, for the S.C. Department of Corrections to fix infrastructure, including doors and door locks

$33.6 million, to cover pay raises, bonus and to hire new first responders, probation and corrections officers, firefighters and other criminal justice agencies